Device control method, device management system, and voice input apparatus

ABSTRACT

A method is provided that includes receiving, from a voice input apparatus associated with a first target device among a plurality of target devices, instruction information that includes first voice information indicating an operation instruction for any target device, and recognizing the operation instruction from the first voice information included in the received instruction information. The method also includes specifying the first target device by referencing a first database, and determining whether second voice information indicating an operation object for the operation instruction is included in the instruction information. The method further includes transmitting, (i) when the second voice information is not included in the instruction information, a first control command for executing the recognized operation instruction to the first target device, and (ii) when the second voice information is included in the instruction information, the first control command to a second target device associated with the operation object.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/667,661 filed Mar. 24, 2015, which claims priority to JapaneseApplication No. 2014-079100 filed Apr. 8, 2014. The disclosures of thesedocuments, including the specifications, drawings and claims, areincorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a device control method, a devicemanagement system, and a voice input apparatus for using voicerecognition to remotely operate a plurality of electronic devices.

2. Description of the Related Art

In recent years, voice recognition accuracy has greatly improved due tothe development of voice recognition technology. Together with this,device management systems that operate various devices by voice arebeing studied. Thus, it is expected that it will become possible forvarious devices to be controlled by a user speaking desired operationcontent to the various devices without performing troublesome buttonoperations.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No 11-85191 and No2003-153355 disclose a system in which a plurality of devices arecontrolled in an integrated manner by a user speaking a voice command.

SUMMARY

However, the aforementioned system is still at the investigation stageeven at the present moment in time, and further improvements arerequired for the practical application thereof.

One non-limiting and exemplary embodiment provides a device controltechnology that can withstand practical application and is easy for auser to use.

In one general aspect, the techniques disclosed here feature a method ina device management system for managing a plurality of target devicesthat comprises: receiving, from a voice input apparatus associated witha first target device among the plurality of target devices, instructioninformation that includes first voice information indicating anoperation instruction for any target device among the plurality oftarget devices; recognizing the operation instruction from the firstvoice information; determining whether or not second voice informationindicating a second target device among the plurality of target devicesis included in the instruction information; and transmitting, (i) if thesecond voice information is not included in the instruction information,a control command for executing the recognized operation instruction tothe first target device, or, (ii) if the second voice information isincluded in the instruction information, the first control command tothe second target device.

It should be noted that general or specific embodiments may beimplemented as a system, a method, an integrated circuit, a computerprogram, a storage medium, or any selective combination thereof.

According to the aforementioned aspect, further improvement can berealized.

Additional benefits and advantages of the disclosed embodiments willbecome apparent from the specification and drawings. The benefits and/oradvantages may be individually obtained by the various embodiments andfeatures of the specification and drawings, which need not all beprovided in order to obtain one or more of such benefits and/oradvantages.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a voice operation system for a plurality ofdevices according to exemplary embodiment 1;

FIG. 2 is a drawing depicting an example of information stored in ahousehold device operation command database according to exemplaryembodiment 1;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a remote controlaccording to exemplary embodiment 1;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of an integratedcontrol device according to exemplary embodiment 1;

FIG. 5A is a drawing depicting an exemplary device name managementtable;

FIG. 5B is a drawing depicting an exemplary remote control correspondingdevice management table;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a voice operation system for a plurality ofdevices according to exemplary embodiment 2;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of an integratedcontrol device according to exemplary embodiment 2;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a voice operation system for a plurality ofdevices according to exemplary embodiment 3; and

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a remote controlaccording to exemplary embodiment 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Underlying Knowledge Forming Basis of the PresentDisclosure

In conventional electronic devices, it is often the case that remotecontrols which are specifically for each device are provided and,ordinarily, a user uses these dedicated remote controls to remotelyoperate the corresponding electronic devices. However, together with theincrease in the functions of electronic devices in recent years, thenumber of buttons on remote controls has radically increased, and aproblem has arisen in that the user is not able to easily carry out anintended operation. Therefore, recently, various kinds of remotecontrols and electronic devices that are provided with voice recognitionfunctions have been proposed in order to improve the ease of use ofremote controls while also reducing the number of buttons on remotecontrols.

Meanwhile, together with progress in home networks such as wireless LANsand ECHONET, recently, as well as AV devices such as televisions andinformation devices such as personal computers, white goods such as airconditioners and refrigerators have also come to be ordinarily connectedto a home network. There have consequently been a large number ofproposals for systems that control all electrical devices inside a homein an integrated manner via these home networks. In addition, in orderto improve the ease of use of this kind of integrated control system,integrated control systems in which a voice recognition function is usedhave been proposed, and it has become possible for various electronicdevices in a household to be operated by voice.

For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.11-85191 and No. 2003-153355 disclose a system in which a plurality ofdevices are controlled in an integrated manner by a user speaking avoice command. Specifically, the user is able to voice-operate anoperation-target device by successively speaking an operation-targetdevice name (for example, “television” or “air conditioner”) and anoperation name that indicates the content of an operation for eachdevice (for example, “increase volume” or “cooling”).

As in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 11-85191,in a conventional system in which a plurality of devices are operated inan integrated manner by voice, in order to specify an operation-targetdevice, a user ordinarily has to speak a voice command that includes theoperation-target device name (for example, “television” or “airconditioner”), for example, “television, increase volume” or “airconditioner, turn on heating”.

Thus, there is a problem in that, even when the device for which theuser is to perform a voice operation is, for the most part, one devicefrom among a plurality of devices on a home network, the user usuallyhas to speak a voice command that includes that device name, and theoperation is troublesome.

Furthermore, in the situation where a user who has already been using anindividual electronic device provided with a voice recognition functionhas, in order to operate a plurality of electronic devices, introducedan integrated control system in which a home network is used, it becomespossible for the user to operate all of the devices on the home networkby voice; however, when voice-operating the electronic device providedwith the existing voice recognition function, it has usually beennecessary for the user to speak a voice command that includes thatdevice name.

For example, a user who has been in possession of a TV provided with anexisting voice recognition function has been able to operate the TVmerely by speaking an operation name such as “channel 4” or “increasevolume” when using only the TV; however, after having introduced theintegrated control system, the user usually has to speak a word such as“television” that indicates a device name, as in “television, channel 4”and “television, increase volume”.

Thus, immediately after introducing the integrated control system, whenthe user voice-operates the electronic device provided with the existingvoice recognition function, the possibility of the user performingerroneous speech such as forgetting to add a device name becomesextremely high. Thus, until the user becomes used to speaking voicecommands that include a device name, with regard to the electronicdevice provided with the existing voice recognition function, there is aproblem in that erroneous operations frequently occur and the operationis felt to be troublesome compared to when voice operations were carriedout with only the device. In particular, when the electronic deviceprovided with the existing voice recognition function is an electronicdevice with which the user frequently carries out voice operations,there is a possibility of there being a notable decline in operability,and there is a problem in that the user is not able to smoothly switchover to the integrated control system.

Therefore, the purpose of the present disclosure is to provide a voiceoperation system for a plurality of devices that has excellentoperability, in which it is possible for a plurality of electronicdevices to be voice-operated, and a voice operation is possible withregard to a specific device for which a user frequently carries out avoice operation, even when that device name is omitted.

Therefore, the inventor of the present application investigated thefollowing improvement measure, for the functional improvement of adevice management system in which voice input is used.

In a device control method in a device management system that isconnected to a plurality of target devices arranged in the samehousehold and manages the plurality of target devices, instructioninformation that includes first voice information indicating anoperation instruction for one or more target devices among the pluralityof target devices is received from a voice input apparatus associatedwith a specific target device among the plurality of target devices, viaa network, the operation instruction is recognized from the first voiceinformation included in the received instruction information, and adetermination is made as to whether or not second voice informationindicating any target device among the plurality of target devices isincluded in the instruction information, and, if the second voiceinformation is not included in the instruction information, a controlcommand that causes the recognized operation content to be executed istransmitted to the specific target device corresponding to the voiceinput apparatus, via the network, or, if the second voice information isincluded in the instruction information, the control command istransmitted to a target device indicated by the second voiceinformation, via the network.

According to the aforementioned aspect, if the second voice informationindicating any target device among the plurality of target devices isnot included in the instruction information received from the voiceapparatus, a control command that causes the recognized operationcontent to be executed is transmitted to the specific target devicecorresponding to the voice input apparatus, or, if the second voiceinformation is included in the instruction information, the controlcommand is transmitted to a target device indicated by the second voiceinformation.

Thus, for example, a voice operation for which a voice input apparatusis used can be carried out for a plurality of target devices on a homenetwork, and, for example, a voice operation in which the speaking ofthe device name has been omitted becomes possible with regard to aspecific target device among the plurality of target devices that isassociated with one voice input apparatus.

Accordingly, for example, when the usage frequency of a voice operationfor a specific target device is high compared to other target devices,or when it is determined that, for the most part, one target device isbeing used, it is no longer necessary to speak the device name or thelike for the specific device, and therefore the complexity for the usercan be reduced, and also quick operation instructions for the specifictarget device become possible. In addition, for example, even when auser who has been using a voice recognition device by means of anexisting voice input apparatus has introduced an integrated controlsystem in which a home network is used, a voice command in which thedevice name or the like has been omitted may be received when the useruses the voice input apparatus associated with the existing voicerecognition device to operate the target device, and therefore it ismade possible for the same operation as that prior to the introductionof the system to be carried out, and it becomes possible to reduceerroneous operations.

In the aforementioned aspect, for example, the instruction informationmay include identification information that identifies the voice inputapparatus, reference may be made to a first database in which theidentification information and the device ID of the specific targetdevice are associated, to specify the specific target device, and thecontrol command may be transmitted to the specific target device.

In the aforementioned aspect, for example, reference may be made to asecond database in which device IDs corresponding to each of theplurality of target devices and the second voice information areassociated, to specify the target device indicated by the second voiceinformation, and the control command may be transmitted to the targetdevice indicated by the second voice information.

In the aforementioned aspect, for example, the voice input apparatus maybe provided with a physical button or a touch panel, and the operationinstruction for the one target device, which is input using the physicalbutton or the touch panel, may be transmitted using wirelesscommunication.

Furthermore, in another aspect, in a device control method in a devicemanagement system that is connected to a plurality of target devicesarranged in the same household and manages the plurality of targetdevices, if a user is using a remote controller associated with aspecific target device among the plurality of target devices, remotecontrol identification information that identifies the remote controllerfrom remote controllers is received via a network, instructioninformation that includes first voice information indicating anoperation instruction for one or more target devices among the pluralityof target devices is received from a voice input apparatus connected tothe device management system, via the network, the operation instructionis recognized from the first voice information included in the receivedinstruction information, and a determination is made as to whether ornot second voice information indicating any target device among theplurality of target devices is included in the instruction information,and, if the second voice information is not included in the instructioninformation, the specific target device corresponding to the remotecontroller is specified based on the received remote controlidentification information, and a control command that causes therecognized operation content to be executed is transmitted to thespecific target device via the network, or, if the second voiceinformation is included in the instruction information, the controlcommand is transmitted to a target device indicated by the second voiceinformation, via the network.

According to the aforementioned aspect, if the second voice informationindicating any target device among the plurality of target devices isnot included in the instruction information received from the voiceapparatus, the specific target device corresponding to the remotecontroller is specified based on the received remote controlidentification information, and a control command that causes therecognized operation content to be executed is transmitted to thespecific target device, or, if the second voice information is includedin the instruction information, the control command is transmitted to atarget device indicated by the second voice information.

Thus, for example, if the device name has not been extracted from theinput voice of a user, the device that is the operation target of theuser can be specified using remote control operation information that isoutput from a remote controller. In addition, in the presentconfiguration, the voice input apparatus that inputs the voice of theuser and the remote controller are separate configurations, and remotecontrol operation information is generated based on a user operationwith respect to the remote controller. Accordingly, the device that isthe operation target of the user can be specified by the user, forexample, merely holding the remote controller, even when the user doesnot intend to operate the remote controller, and, in addition, itbecomes possible for complexity for the user to be reduced.

Furthermore, for example, a voice operation for which a voice inputapparatus is used can be carried out for a plurality of target deviceson a home network, and, for example, a voice operation in which thespeaking of the device name has been omitted becomes possible withregard to a specific target device among the plurality of target devicesthat is associated with one remote controller.

In the aforementioned other aspect, for example, reference may be madeto a first database in which the remote control identificationinformation and a device ID of the specific target device areassociated, to specify the specific target device, and the controlcommand may be transmitted to the specific target device.

In the aforementioned other aspect, for example, reference may be madeto a second database in which device IDs corresponding to each of theplurality of target devices and the second voice information areassociated, to specify the target device indicated by the second voiceinformation, and the control command may be transmitted to the targetdevice indicated by the second voice information.

Furthermore, in another aspect, in a device management system that isconnected to a plurality of target devices arranged in the samehousehold and manages the plurality of target devices, a managementapparatus that manages the device management system receives instructioninformation that includes first voice information indicating anoperation instruction for one or more target devices among the pluralityof target devices, from a voice input apparatus associated with aspecific target device among the plurality of target devices, via anetwork, recognizes the operation instruction from the first voiceinformation included in the received instruction information, anddetermines whether or not second voice information indicating any targetdevice among the plurality of target devices is included in theinstruction information, and, if the second voice information is notincluded in the instruction information, transmits a control commandthat causes the recognized operation content to be executed, to thespecific target device corresponding to the voice input apparatus, viathe network, or, if the second voice information is included in theinstruction information, transmits the control command to a targetdevice indicated by the second voice information, via the network, andthe voice input apparatus transmits the instruction information thatincludes the first voice information indicating the operationinstruction for the one or more target devices among the plurality oftarget devices.

It should be noted that these comprehensive or specific aspects may berealized by a system, a method, an integrated circuit, a computerprogram, or a recording medium such as a computer-readable CD-ROM, andmay be realized by an arbitrary combination of a system, a method, anintegrated circuit, a computer program, and a recording medium.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure aredescribed with reference to the appended drawings.

It should be noted that the embodiments described hereinafter allrepresent comprehensive or specific examples. The numerical values, theshapes, the materials, the constituent elements, the arrangementpositions and modes of connection of the constituent elements, thesteps, and the order of the steps and the like given in the followingembodiments are examples and are not intended to limit the presentdisclosure. Furthermore, constituent elements that are not described inthe independent claims representing the most significant concepts fromamong the constituent elements in the following embodiments aredescribed as optional constituent elements.

Hereinafter, a voice operation system that uses voice to operate aplurality of devices arranged in the same household is described as anexample of a device management system that is connected to a pluralityof target devices and manages the plurality of target devices.

Embodiment 1

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a voice operation system 1 for a pluralityof devices according to the present embodiment.

As depicted in FIG. 1, the voice operation system 1 for a plurality ofdevices includes a device 10, a device 11, and a device 12 that areoperation targets, a remote control 2, and an integrated control device3 that controls the operation of the devices 10 to 12. It should benoted that although a description is given here with there being threeoperation-target devices included in the voice operation system 1, thenumber of the operation-target devices included the voice operationsystem 1 may be less than or more than this. Here, it is assumed thatthe remote control 2 is a remote control that is associated with thedevice 10. Generally, it is assumed that the remote control 2 is adevice 10-dedicated remote control that is included when the device 10is purchased by itself, and identification information indicating thatthe remote control 2 is associated with the device 10 is assigned to theremote control 2.

As depicted in FIG. 1, the remote control 2 includes a sound pickup unit20, an operation detection unit 21, an operation information generationunit 22, and a transmission unit 23. A plurality of operation buttonsfor executing each function of the device 10 are arranged on the uppersurface of the remote control 2. For example, when the device 10 is atelevision, a volume control button, a channel selection button, and amenu button and the like are arranged as operation buttons on the remotecontrol 2. Here, these buttons may be arranged on the remote control 2as physical buttons, or may be implemented as a touch panel.

Furthermore, in order to input the voice of the user, the sound pickupunit 20, which is a microphone, and a voice input start button (notdepicted in FIG. 1) for notifying the sound pickup unit 20 of the startof voice input by the user are arranged, besides the usual operationbuttons, on the upper surface of the remote control 2.

The operation detection unit 21 detects user operations with respect toeach operation button of the remote control 2, and outputs a signalcorresponding to each operation button. For example, if a voice inputstart button press operation by the user is detected, a voice inputstart signal is output. The operation information generation unit 22generates remote control operation information on the basis of theidentification information of the remote control 2 and a signal receivedfrom the operation detection unit 21. The transmission unit 23 transmitsthe voice obtained from the sound pickup unit 20, and the remote controloperation information obtained from the operation information generationunit 22, to the devices 10 to 12 and the integrated control device 3 bymeans of a communication method such as infrared, Bluetooth (registeredtrademark), or a wireless LAN or the like. At such time, with regard tothe voice transmitted to the integrated control device, voice dataobtained from the sound pickup unit 20 may be transmitted as it is, or afeature quantity may be extracted from the obtained voice data and theextracted feature quantity may be transmitted.

The integrated control device 3 includes a reception unit 30, a voicerecognition unit 31, an operation information analysis unit 32, ahousehold device operation command database (hereinafter referred to asa household device operation command DB) 33, a device specifying unit34, an operation specifying unit 35, a control information generationunit 36, a transmission unit 37, and a storage unit 38.

The reception unit 30 receives voice data and remote control operationinformation transmitted from the remote control 2. At such time, if thevoice data is intended for a device operation by the user, the voicedata and the remote control operation information are received asinstruction information. The voice recognition unit 31 recognizes thecontent indicated by the voice data, based on the voice data obtainedfrom the reception unit 30. If the content indicated by the voice dataincludes, for example, an operation instruction for any of the devices,information specifying the device (device name) and informationspecifying the content of the operation instruction (operation name) areoutput as a recognition result. The operation information analysis unit32 extracts the identification information of the remote control 2 fromthe remote control operation information obtained from the receptionunit 30.

A device name, an operation name, operation content corresponding to theoperation name, and control information corresponding to the operationcontent and the like are stored for each device connected to the homenetwork, in the household device operation command DB 33.

FIG. 2 depicts an example of the information stored in the householddevice operation command DB 33 when the device 10 is a television, thedevice 11 is a video recorder, and the device 12 is an air conditioner.As depicted in FIG. 2, the device names are words with which the userdesignates an operation-target device. In FIG. 2, these are“television”, “video recorder”, and “air conditioner”. Furthermore, theoperation names are words with which the user instructs an operation toa device, and when the device is a television, the operation names are“increase volume” and “change to channel 2” and the like. Furthermore,the operation content is the content of an operation that is actuallycarried out by a device in accordance with an operation name. Forexample, in the case of a television, the operation content of “increasetelevision volume by three levels” is associated with the operation nameof “increase volume”. It should be noted that a plurality of operationnames that correspond to item of each operation content may beregistered. For example, in FIG. 2, the two expressions of “increasevolume” and “volume up” are registered for the operation content of“increase television volume by three levels”. Furthermore, the controlinformation is constituted by network commands for causing anoperation-target device to execute operation content, and is transmittedto the operation-target device via the home network. For example, in theexample of FIG. 2, when the television is caused to execute theoperation content of “increase television volume by three levels”, thenetwork command of (volume, +3) is transmitted to the television.

The device specifying unit 34 uses the device names stored in thehousehold device operation command DB 33, a device name obtained fromthe voice recognition unit 31, and identification information of theremote control 2 obtained from the operation information analysis unit32, to specify the operation-target device of the user.

Based on the device name specified by the device specifying unit 34 andthe operation name obtained from the voice recognition unit 31, theoperation specifying unit 35 searches the operation names of each devicestored in the household device operation command DB 33, and specifiesthe operation content for the operation-target device.

Based on the device name specified by the device specifying unit 34 andthe operation content specified by the operation specifying unit 35, thecontrol information generation unit 36 searches the control informationof each device stored in the household device operation command DB 33,and obtains control information for remotely controlling theoperation-target device, via the home network.

The transmission unit 37 transmits the control information obtained bythe control information generation unit 36, to the device specified bythe device specifying unit 34, via the home network.

The device 10, the device 11, and the device 12 are operation-targetdevices connected on the home network.

The devices 10 to 12 each include a communication unit 101 and a controlunit 102. The communication unit 101 receives a control signal from theintegrated control device 3, via the home network. Furthermore, it isalso possible for control information to be received from the remotecontrol 2, via wireless communication such as infrared communication.

The control unit 102 executes a corresponding operation, based on thecontrol information received by the communication unit 101, in thedevices 10 to 12.

Hereinafter, an operation that is carried out when the uservoice-operates the devices 10 to 12 is described with regard to thevoice operation system 1 for a plurality of devices configured asdescribed hereinabove, in the present embodiment.

In the present embodiment, when the user voice-operates the devices 10to 12, first, the user holds the remote control 2 and pushes the voiceinput start button on the remote control 2, and then speaks a voicecommand towards the microphone on the remote control 2. For example,when the device 10 is a television, the device 11 is a video recorder,and the device 12 is an air conditioner, the user says “television,increase volume” when wanting to operate the volume of the television,and says “air conditioner, lower temperature” when wanting to lower thetemperature of the air conditioner, and the like.

FIG. 3 depicts a procedure for the processing of the remote control 2when the user performs voice input to the remote control 2. Hereinafter,the operation of the remote control 2 is described using FIG. 3.

When the voice input start button on the remote control 2 is pressed bythe user, the operation detection unit 21 detects the press operation ofthe voice input start button and outputs a voice input start signal tothe sound pickup unit 20 and the operation information generation unit22 (S101). When the voice input start signal is received from theoperation detection unit 21, the sound pickup unit 20 starts inputtingthe voice spoken by the user (S102). Furthermore, when the voice inputstart signal is received from the operation detection unit 21, theoperation information generation unit 22 generates information in whichvoice input start information and identification information indicatingthe remote control 2 are combined, as remote control operationinformation (S103). The transmission unit 23 transmits the voiceobtained from the sound pickup unit 20, and the remote control operationinformation obtained from the operation information generation unit 22,to the integrated control device 3 and the devices 10 to 12 (S104). Thesound pickup unit 20 ordinarily checks whether or not the voice inputfrom the user is continuing (S105), and stops the voice input and alsostops voice output to the transmission unit 23 if it is determined thatthe voice input from the user has ended (S106). It should be noted thatthe determination as to whether the voice input has ended is carried outusing a method or the like in which it is determined that the voiceinput of the user has finished if the level of the input voice hasbecome equal to or less than a fixed value, for example. Furthermore,after the sound pickup unit 20 has stopped the voice input, the user maypress the voice input start button once again if the user wishes tocarry out voice input once again. In the remote control 2, when voiceinput start is pressed once again, the processing from S1 is executedonce again, and the voice of the user is input and transmitted togetherwith remote control operation information from the transmission unit 23.

The aforementioned is the operation carried out by the remote control 2when the user has input a voice command to the remote control 2.

FIG. 4 depicts a procedure for the processing of the integrated controldevice 3. Hereinafter, the operation of the integrated control device 3is described using FIG. 4.

First, the reception unit 30 receives voice and remote control operationinformation transmitted from the transmission unit 23 of the remotecontrol 2 (S201).

Next, the operation information analysis unit 32 extracts theidentification information of the remote control 2 from the remotecontrol operation information received by the reception unit 30 (S202).

Furthermore, the voice recognition unit 31 recognizes the voice receivedby the reception unit 30, and obtains a device name or an operation nameas a recognition result (S203). For example, when the user has spoken“air conditioner, turn on cooling” as a voice command, the voicerecognition unit 31 outputs the device name “air conditioner” or theoperation name “turn on cooling” as a recognition result if correctlyrecognized. Furthermore, if the user has omitted the device name andspoken “increase volume”, the operation name “increase volume” isoutput, without a device name, as a recognition result.

It should be noted that, in the voice recognition unit 31, aconventional DP matching method, a hidden Markov model (HMM) method, oran N-Gram method is used as the method for recognizing voice. Arecognition dictionary for carrying out voice recognition is stored inthe storage unit 38. In the recognition dictionary, information forrecognizing “(device name)(operation name)” and “(operation name)” voicecommands are included for each item of operation content of the devices10 to 12. For example, when the device 10 is a television, informationfor recognizing voice commands such as “television, change to channel 2”and “change to channel 2” is stored in the recognition dictionary,corresponding to operation content such as selecting channel 2. Itshould be noted that not only information regarding operations of thedevices 10 to 12 currently connected to the home network but alsoinformation for voice-operating general household electrical appliancesmay be stored in the recognition dictionary.

The device specifying unit 34 refers to device names stored in thehousehold device operation command DB 33, and, first, confirms whetheror not a device name is included in the recognition result that has beenoutput from the voice recognition unit 31 (S204). If a device namestored in the household device operation command DB 33 is included inthe recognition result (if “Y” in S204), the device having that devicename is specified as the device that is the operation target of the user(S205). At such time, for example, a device name management table suchas that depicted in FIG. 5A is used to specify the device that is theoperation target of the user. In the device name management table,device names and identifiers of the corresponding devices are associatedand managed. If a word that is registered as a device name in the devicename management table is included in the voice recognized in the voicerecognition unit 31, the device corresponding to that word is specified.The names of general devices such as television and air conditioner maybe managed as device names; for example, a configuration is permissiblein which the user can associate an arbitrary name with a device toperform management, such as associating the name “Michael” with atelevision having a “television 001” identifier, and associating thename “Cathy” with an air conditioner having an “air conditioner 001”identifier. Furthermore, a plurality of names may be associated witheach corresponding device.

Conversely, if a device name is not included in the recognition result(if “N” in S204), based on the identification information of the remotecontrol 2 extracted by the processing of S202, the device 10corresponding to that identification information is specified as thedevice that is the operation target of the user (S206). At such time,for example, a remote control corresponding device management table suchas that depicted in FIG. 5B is used to specify the device that is theoperation target of the user. The remote control corresponding devicemanagement table manages the identifiers of devices associated with theremote control 2. The voice operation system 1 according to an aspect ofthe present disclosure may be a configuration that includes a pluralityof the remote controls 2, and there may be a remote control 2 thatcorresponds to each device as depicted in FIG. 5B. It should be notedthat the device name management table and the remote controlcorresponding device management table of FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B may bestored in the storage unit 38, in the integrated control device 3.

Hereinafter, the operation of the device specifying unit 34 is describedusing a specific example. For example, it is assumed that the device 10is a television and the household device operation command DB 33 is thatdepicted in FIG. 2. Here, the household device operation command DB 33may manage the identifiers of devices corresponding to each device name.When the user has spoken “television, change to channel 2” to thetelevision-dedicated remote control 2 for inputting voice, the devicename “television” is obtained as a voice recognition result (S203).Next, it is confirmed whether or not the recognized device name“television” is included in the household device operation command DB 33(S204). Since the recognized device name “television” is included in thedevice names stored in the household device operation command DB 33depicted in FIG. 2, in this case, the device that is the operationtarget of the user is specified as being the television (S205). Here,for example, reference may be made to a device name management table inwhich device names and identifiers of devices are associated, such asthat of FIG. 5A, to specify the device indicated by the device nameobtained as the voice recognition result.

Similarly, when the user has spoken “change to channel 2” with thedevice name being omitted, a voice recognition result is obtainedwithout a device name (S203). Since a device name is not included in therecognition result (S204), next, the device corresponding to theidentification information of the remote control 2 is obtained. Sincethe device corresponding to the identification information of the remotecontrol 2 is the television, in this case also, the device that is theoperation target of the user is specified as being the television(S206). Here, for example, reference is made to a remote controlcorresponding device management table in which the identificationinformation of the remote control 2 and the identifiers of devices areassociated, such as that depicted in FIG. 5B, to specify that the devicecorresponding to the identification information of the remote control 2is the television.

The operation specifying unit 35 confirms the appropriateness of theoperation name obtained by the recognition processing (S203) of thevoice recognition unit 31 (S207), and if determined as beingappropriate, the operation content corresponding to that operation nameis specified as the intended operation of the user with respect to theoperation-target device (S208).

The processing of the operation specifying unit 35 is carried out withthe following procedure.

First, the device name specified by the processing of S205 or theprocessing of S206 is used to search the household device operationcommand DB 33 and read out all operation names corresponding to thespecified device. Next, it is confirmed whether or not the operationname obtained by the recognition processing (S203) of the voicerecognition unit 31 matches any of the operation names read out from thehousehold device operation command DB 33, and if there is a match, it isdetermined that the operation name is appropriate (S207). If it isdetermined that the operation name is appropriate (if “Y” in S207), theoperation content corresponding to that operation name is read out fromthe household device operation command DB 33, and that operation contentis specified as the intended operation of the user with respect to theoperation-target device (S208).

Conversely, if there is no match, there is no operation corresponding tothe specified device, and it is therefore determined that the operationname obtained from the recognition result is not appropriate (“N”processing in S207), and the series of processing corresponding to thevoice command spoken by the user is ended.

For example, when it is assumed that the device 10 is a television andthe household device operation command DB 33 is that depicted in FIG. 2,if the user has spoken “television, change to channel 2”, the operationname “change to channel 2” is obtained as the recognition result (S203).Next, the household device operation command DB 33 is used to confirmwhether or not the operation name “change to channel 2” is registeredfor the device “television” that has already been specified (S207).Since the recognized operation name “change to channel 2” is included inthe operation names stored in the household device operation command DB33 depicted in FIG. 2, in this case, the content of the intendedoperation of the user is specified as “select channel 2” (S208).

Based on the device specified by the processing of S205 or theprocessing of S206 and the operation content specified by the processingof S208, the control information generation unit 36 searches controlinformation of each device stored in the household device operationcommand DB 33, and obtains control information for remotely controllingthe operation-target device (S209).

For example, when it is assumed that the device 10 is a television andthe household device operation command DB 33 is that depicted in FIG. 2,if the voice command “television, change to channel 2” of the user iscorrectly recognized and the device is specified as “television” and theoperation content is specified as “select channel 2”, “(channel, 2)” isobtained as the control information on the basis of the household deviceoperation command DB 33.

The transmission unit 37 transmits the control information obtained bythe processing of S209, to the device specified by the processing ofS205 or the processing of S206, via the home network (S210).

The aforementioned is the operation carried out by the integratedcontrol device 3 when voice and remote control operation informationtransmitted from the remote control 2 has been input.

Lastly, the operation of the devices 10 to 12 is described. It should benoted that the devices 10 to 12 each carry out the same operation, andtherefore, hereinafter, the device 10 is described as an example.

In the device 10, first, the communication unit 101 receives controlinformation from the remote control 2 and the integrated control device3, via the home network. A corresponding operation is then executedbased on the control information received by the control unit 102.

For example, if it is assumed that the device 10 is a television, whenthe user has spoken the voice command “television, change to channel 2”to the remote control 2, the control information “(channel, 2)” from theintegrated control device 3 is received by the communication unit 101.The control unit 102 then changes the channel of the television tochannel 2, based on the received control information.

As described hereinabove, in the voice operation system 1 for aplurality of devices according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure, when it has not been possible to specify a device name fromthe recognition result for a voice command spoken by the user, thedevice specifying unit 34 extracts remote control identificationinformation within remote control operation information that is outputfrom the remote control 2, and specifies the device 10 that isassociated with the remote control identification information, as beingthe device that is the operation target of the user. Thus, a voiceoperation for which the remote control 2 is used can be carried out forthe plurality of devices 10 to 12 on the home network, and also a voiceoperation in which a device name has been omitted becomes possible withrespect to a specific device 10 that is associated with the remotecontrol 2, from among the plurality of devices.

For example, it is assumed that the device 10 is a television, thedevice 11 is a video recorder, and the device 12 is an air conditioner,and it is assumed that the remote control 2 is a dedicated voice inputremote control associated with the television. When the user uses theremote control 2 to voice-operate the video recorder and the airconditioner, it is necessary to speak a voice command that includes thedevice name, such as “video recorder, record” and “air conditioner, turnon cooling”; however, for the television, an operation in which the“television” device name does not have to be spoken becomes possible,such as “increase volume”. It should be noted that, in the presentembodiment, a voice operation for the television by means of a voicecommand that includes the device name is possible, as in “television,increase volume”.

Thus, for example, when the usage frequency of a voice operation for thetelevision is high compared to the video recorder and air conditioner,or when a voice operation is carried out only for the television, it isno longer necessary to speak the device name of the television that isthe specific device, and therefore the complexity for the user can bereduced, and also quick operation instructions for the television becomepossible. In other words, in addition to voice operations for aplurality of devices being possible, a quick operation instruction inwhich speech designating a device name has been omitted is possible fora specific device among the plurality of devices.

Furthermore, for example, even when a user who has been using a voicerecognition television by means of an existing voice input remotecontrol has introduced a system in which a video recorder and an airconditioner and the like can be controlled in an integrated manner via ahome network, if the user uses the television-dedicated voice inputremote control to operate the existing voice recognition television, thetelevision receives a voice command in which the device name has beenomitted. Thus, it is possible for the same operation as prior to theintroduction of the system to be carried out for the television, and itis possible to reduce erroneous operations such as speaking withoutincluding a device name. In other words, it is sufficient as long as theuser remembers that he or she should speak a voice command including adevice name only for devices other than the television such as the airconditioner and the video recorder for which a voice operation has newlybecome possible, and it is therefore possible to simply learn the voiceoperations for the integrated control system.

Embodiment 2

In the present embodiment, a modified example of the voice operationsystem 1 for a plurality of devices according to embodiment 1 isdescribed.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a voice operation system 111 for aplurality of devices according to the present embodiment.

The voice operation system 111 of the present embodiment hassubstantially the same configuration as the voice operation system 1 ofthe first embodiment. The difference between the two voice operationsystems is that a device operation history storage unit 39 isadditionally provided in the integrated control device 3 of the voiceoperation system 1 of the first embodiment. Therefore, in the voiceoperation system 111 of the second embodiment, the same referencenumbers as in the first embodiment have been used for configurationsthat are common with the voice operation system 1 of the firstembodiment.

Hereinafter, the configuration that is different from the firstembodiment is mainly described, and a description regarding theconfigurations that are common with the first embodiment is omitted.

The device operation history storage unit 39 newly added to theintegrated control device of the first embodiment stores the device nameof an operation target specified by the device specifying unit 34.

Furthermore, the device specifying unit 34 uses the device names storedin the household device operation command DB 33, a device name obtainedfrom the voice recognition unit 31, identification information of theremote control 2 obtained from the operation information analysis unit32, and a device name stored in the device operation history storageunit 39, to specify the operation-target device of the user. Based onthe device name specified by the device specifying unit 34 and anoperation name obtained from the voice recognition unit 31, theoperation specifying unit 35 searches the operation names of each devicestored in the household device operation command DB 33, and specifiesthe operation content for the operation-target device. If operationcontent is specified, the device name is then stored in the deviceoperation history storage unit 39.

Hereinafter, the operation carried out when the user voice-operates thedevices 10 to 12 is described with regard to the voice operation system111 for a plurality of devices configured as described hereinabove, inthe second embodiment. It should be noted that, hereinafter, thedifference with the first embodiment is mainly described, andoverlapping descriptions are omitted. Specifically, the operation of theremote control 2 is the same processing as the processing of S101 toS106 in the flowchart (FIG. 3) of the first embodiment, and adescription thereof has therefore been omitted here. Furthermore, theoperations of the devices 10 to 12 are also the same processing as inthe first embodiment, and a description thereof has therefore beenomitted.

FIG. 7 depicts a procedure for the processing of the integrated controldevice 3 according to the present embodiment. Hereinafter, the operationof the integrated control device 3 is described using FIG. 7. It shouldbe noted that, in the second embodiment, the operations of the receptionunit 30, the voice recognition unit 31, the operation informationanalysis unit 32, the operation specifying unit 35, the controlinformation generation unit 36, and the transmission unit 37 are thesame as in the first embodiment. Thus, in FIG. 7, the processing at thebeginning is the same as the processing from S201 to S203 of theflowchart (FIG. 4) of the first embodiment, and a description of thisprocessing is therefore omitted. Furthermore, the processing of S312 andS313 is the same as the processing of S209 and S210 of the flowchart(FIG. 4) of the first embodiment, and a description regarding thisprocessing is therefore also omitted. Here, the processing S4 to S11 ofthe device specifying unit 34 and the operation specifying unit 35 thatcarry out operations that are different from the first embodiment isdescribed in detail.

The device specifying unit 34 refers to the device names stored in thehousehold device operation command DB 33, and confirms whether or not adevice name is included in the recognition result output from the voicerecognition unit 31 (S304). If a device name that is stored in thehousehold device operation command DB 33 is included in the recognitionresult (if “Y” in S304), the device having that device name is specifiedas the device that is the operation target of the user (S305). Here,reference may be made to a device name management table such as thatdepicted in FIG. 5A, to specify a device from the device name indicatedby the recognition result in the voice recognition unit 31.

On the other hand, if a device name is not included in the recognitionresult (if “N” in S304), next, it is confirmed whether or not a devicename is already stored in the device operation history storage unit 39(S306). If a device name is already stored in the device operationhistory storage unit 39 (if “Y” in S306), the device having the devicename stored in the device operation history storage unit 39 is specifiedas the device that is the operation target of the user (S307).Conversely, if a device name is not stored in the device operationhistory storage unit 39 (if “N” in S306), based on the identificationinformation of the remote control 2 extracted by the processing (S202 ofFIG. 4), the device 10, which corresponds to that identificationinformation, is specified as the device that is the operation target ofthe user (S308).

The operation specifying unit 35 confirms the appropriateness of theoperation name obtained by the recognition processing (S203 of FIG. 4)of the voice recognition unit 31 (S307), and if determined as beingappropriate, the operation content corresponding to that operation nameis specified as the intended operation of the user with respect to theoperation-target device (S308).

The processing of the operation specifying unit 35 is carried out withthe following procedure.

First, the device name specified by any of the processing of S305, theprocessing of S307, or the processing of S308 is used to search thehousehold device operation command DB 33 and read out all operationnames corresponding to the specified device. Here, the processing ofS308 is the same processing as S206 of FIG. 4. Next, it is confirmedwhether or not the operation name obtained by the recognition processing(S203 of FIG. 4) of the voice recognition unit 31 matches any of theoperation names read out from the household device operation command DB33, and if there is a match, it is determined that the operation name isappropriate (S309). If it is determined that the operation name isappropriate (if “Y” in S309), the operation content corresponding tothat operation name is read out from the household device operationcommand DB 33, and that operation content is specified as the intendedoperation of the user with respect to the operation-target device(S310). Thereafter, the device name specified by any of the processingof S305, the processing of S307, or the processing of S308 is stored inthe device operation history storage unit 39 (S311).

Conversely, if there is no match, there is no operation corresponding tothe specified device, and it is therefore determined that the operationname obtained from the recognition result is not appropriate (“N”processing in S309), and the series of processing corresponding to thevoice command spoken by the user is ended.

Hereinafter, the operations of the device specifying unit 34 and theoperation specifying unit 35 are described using a specific example. Forexample, it is assumed that the device 10 is a television, the device 11is a video recorder, and the household device operation command DB 33 isthat depicted in FIG. 2.

When the user has spoken “video recorder, change to channel 2” to thetelevision-dedicated voice input remote control 2, the device name“video recorder” and the operation name “change to channel 2” areobtained as voice recognition results (S203 of FIG. 4). In the devicespecifying unit 34, since a device name is included in the recognitionresult, next, it is confirmed whether or not the recognized device name“video recorder” is included in the household device operation commandDB 33 (S304). Since been recognized device name “video recorder” isincluded in the device names stored in the household device operationcommand DB 33 depicted in FIG. 2, in this case, the device that is theoperation target of the user is specified as being the video recorder(S305).

Next, in the operation specifying unit 35, the household deviceoperation command DB 33 is used to confirm whether or not the operationname “change to channel 2” is registered for the device “video recorder”that has already been specified (S309). Since the recognized operationname “change to channel 2” is included in the operation names stored inthe household device operation command DB 33 depicted in FIG. 2, in thiscase, the content of the intended operation of the user is specified as“select channel 2” (S310). The device name “video recorder” specified bythe processing of S305 is then stored in the device operation historystorage unit 39.

Thereafter, the control information generation unit 36, the transmissionunit 37, and the device 11 carry out the same operations as in the firstembodiment, and, as result, the channel of the video recorder, which isthe device 11, is changed to channel 2.

Next, in continuation, the operation when “record” has been spoken tothe remote control 2 is described. At such time, the operation name“record” is obtained, without a device name, as a voice recognitionresult (S203 of FIG. 4). Since a device name is not included in therecognition result (S304), the device specifying unit 34 confirmswhether or not a device name is stored in the device operation historystorage unit 39 (S306). Since “video recorder” was stored as a devicename in the device operation history storage unit 39 when theimmediately preceding user voice command was spoken (“Y” processing inS306), in this case, the device that is the operation target of the useris specified as being the video recorder (S307).

In the operation specifying unit 35, the household device operationcommand DB 33 is then used to confirm whether or not the operation name“record” is registered for the device “video recorder” that has alreadybeen specified (S309). Since the recognized operation name “record” isincluded in the operation names stored in the household device operationcommand DB 33 depicted in FIG. 2, in this case, the content of theintended operation of the user is specified as “record” (S310). Thedevice name “video recorder” specified by the processing of S305 is thenstored in the device operation history storage unit 39.

Thereafter, the control information generation unit 36, the transmissionunit 37, and the device 11 carry out the same operations as in the firstembodiment, and, as result, recording of the program on channel 2currently being broadcast is started in the video recorder, which is thedevice 11.

As described hereinabove, in the voice operation system 111 for aplurality of devices according to the exemplary second embodiment of thepresent disclosure, when a device name that has been specified by thedevice specifying unit 34 and the operation specifying unit 35 from avoice command spoken by the user is stored in the device operationhistory storage unit 39, or the device specifying unit 34 has not beenable to specify a device name from the recognition result of a voicecommand spoken by the user, the device corresponding to the device namestored in the device operation history storage unit 39 is specified asbeing the device that is the operation target of the user. However, whena device name is not stored in the device operation history storage unit39, as in the first embodiment, remote control identificationinformation from within remote control operation information output fromthe remote control 2 is extracted, and the device 10 that is associatedwith the remote control identification information is specified as beingthe device that is the operation target of the user.

Thus, in the exemplary second embodiment of the present disclosure, asin the first embodiment, a voice operation for which the remote control2 is used can be carried out for the plurality of devices 10 to 12 onthe home network, and also a voice operation in which a device name hasbeen omitted becomes possible with respect to a specific device 10 thatis associated with the remote control 2, from among the plurality ofdevices. In addition, if a voice command that includes a device name isspoken once with respect to the device 11 or the device 12 other thanthe specific device 10 that is associated with the remote control 2,when the same device is continuously voice-operated, a voice operationin which the device name has been omitted becomes possible. In otherwords, in addition to a voice operation for a plurality of devices beingpossible, a quick operation instruction in which speech designating adevice name has been omitted is possible for a specific device among theplurality of devices.

For example, it is assumed that the device 10 is a television, thedevice 11 is a video recorder, and the device 12 is an air conditioner,and it is assumed that the remote control 2 is a dedicated voice inputremote control associated with the television. In the first embodiment,when the user uses the remote control 2 to voice-operate the videorecorder, it is usually necessary to speak a voice command including adevice name, such as “video recorder, change to channel 2” and “videorecorder, record”; however, in the present embodiment, if “videorecorder, change to channel 2” is spoken, the device name “videorecorder” is stored in the device operation history storage unit 39, andtherefore, when the same device is continuously operated, operationbecomes possible by merely the voice command “record” in which thedevice name has been omitted.

Thus, it is no longer necessary to speak a device name when the samedevice is continuously voice-operated even if the device is not thespecific device associated with the remote control 2, and therefore thecomplexity for the user can be further reduced, and quick operationinstructions for each device become possible.

It should be noted that the device name stored in the device operationhistory storage unit 39 according to the second embodiment may be erasedif not updated for a fixed time after the device name has been stored.Furthermore, the device name may be erased if voice has not been inputto the reception unit 30 for a fixed time.

Embodiment 3

In the present embodiment, a modified example of the voice operationsystem 1 for a plurality of devices according to embodiment 1 isdescribed.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a voice operation system 112 for aplurality of devices, according to the present embodiment.

As depicted in FIG. 8, the voice operation system 112 of the presentembodiment includes a device 10, a device 11, and a device 12 that areoperation targets, a remote control 2, an integrated control device 3that voice-operates the devices 10 to 12, and a voice input device 4. Itshould be noted that the devices 10 to 12 and the integrated controldevice 3 in the present embodiment are substantially the same as theconfigurations described in relation to the voice operation system 1 ofthe first embodiment. The differences are the configuration of theremote control 2, and that the voice input device 4 is newly provided.Therefore, in the voice operation system 112 of the third embodiment,the same reference numbers as in the first embodiment have been used forconfigurations that are common with the voice operation system 1 of thefirst embodiment.

Hereinafter, the remote control 2 and the voice input device 4, whichare configurations that are different from the first embodiment, aremainly described, and a description of the configurations that arecommon with the first embodiment is omitted.

As in the first embodiment, it is assumed that the remote control 2 is aremote control that is associated with the device 10. Generally, it isassumed that the remote control 2 is a device 10-dedicated remotecontrol that is included when the device 10 is purchased by itself, andidentification information indicating that the remote control 2 isassociated with the device 10 is assigned to the remote control 2.

As depicted in FIG. 8, the remote control 2 is configured from anoperation detection unit 21, an operation information generation unit22, a transmission unit 23, and a movement detection unit 24. As in thefirst embodiment, a plurality of operation buttons for executing eachfunction of the device 10 are arranged on the upper surface of theremote control 2. However, in the present embodiment, different from thefirst embodiment, a sound pickup unit 20 and a voice input start buttonwith which the voice of the user is input are not provided.

The operation detection unit 21 detects user operations with respect toeach operation button of the remote control 2, and outputs a signalcorresponding to each operation button.

The movement detection unit 24 detects movement with respect to theremote control of the user, and outputs a signal corresponding to thedetected movement. Here, a detected movement is a movement with whichthe user is using the remote control, and, specifically, is a movementwith which the user is holding or moving the remote control. In order todetect these movements, the remote control 2, for example, has a touchsensor attached to the external surface of a casing, and is internallyequipped with motion sensors such as an acceleration sensor and a gyrosensor inside the casing. Movements with which the user is using theremote control are detected by recognizing signals from the sensors.

The operation information generation unit 22 generates remote controloperation information on the basis of the identification information ofthe remote control 2 and signals received from the operation detectionunit 21 and the movement detection unit 24. The transmission unit 23transmits the remote control operation information obtained from theoperation information generation unit 22, to the devices 10 to 12 andthe integrated control device 3 by means of a communication method suchas infrared, Bluetooth (registered trademark), or a wireless LAN or thelike.

The voice input device 4 is configured from a sound pickup unit 41 and atransmission unit 42. The sound pickup unit 41 inputs a user voice, andthe transmission unit 42 transmits the voice that has been input by thesound pickup unit 41, to the integrated control device 3 by means of acommunication method such as a wired LAN, Bluetooth (registeredtrademark), or a wireless LAN or the like. It should be noted that thevoice input device 4 can be installed anywhere in a household as long asthe voice input device 4 is installed within a range in which the soundpickup unit 41 can input a user voice. For example, when the device 10is voice-operated, the voice input device 4 may be installed on theceiling or lighting of the room in which the device 10 is installed, oron top of the device 10.

Hereinafter, the operation carried out when the user voice-operates thedevices 10 to 12 is described with regard to the voice operation system112 for a plurality of devices configured as described hereinabove, inthe third embodiment. It should be noted that, hereinafter, thedifferences with the first embodiment are mainly described, andoverlapping descriptions are omitted. Specifically, the operation of theintegrated control device 3 is the same processing as the processing ofS201 to S210 in the flowchart (FIG. 4) of the first embodiment, and adescription thereof has therefore been omitted here. Furthermore, theoperations of the devices 10 to 12 are also the same processing as inthe first embodiment, and a description thereof has therefore beenomitted.

FIG. 9 depicts a procedure for the processing of the remote control 2 inthe present embodiment. Hereinafter, the operation of the remote control2 is described using FIG. 9.

For example, if the user holds and moves the remote control 2, themovement detection unit 24 detects these movements of the user withrespect to the remote control 2, and outputs a movement detection signalto the operation information generation unit 22 (S401). When themovement detection signal is received from the movement detection unit24, the operation information generation unit 22 generates informationin which operation information based on the signal obtained from theoperation detection unit 21 and identification information indicatingthe remote control 2 are combined, as remote control operationinformation (S402). The transmission unit 23 transmits the remotecontrol operation information obtained from the operation informationgeneration unit 22 to the integrated control device 3 and the devices 10to 12 (S403). The movement detection unit 24 ordinarily checks whetheror not the movements of the user with respect to the remote control 2are continuing (S404), and stops the output of the movement detectionsignal if it is determined that the movements of the user with respectto the remote control have stopped. At the same time, the transmissionunit 23 stops the transmission of the remote control operationinformation (S405). It should be noted that, with regard to thedetermination as to whether the movements of the user with respect tothe remote control 2 have stopped, it may be determined that themovements of the user with respect to the remote control 2 have stoppedif a state in which the output level of a holding sensor or a motionsensor provided in the remote control 2 has become equal to or less thana fixed value continues for a fixed time, for example.

Next, the operation of the voice input device 4 is described. In thevoice input device 4, the sound pickup unit 41 ordinarily inputs voicethat the user has spoken, and the transmission unit 42 transmits thevoice that is picked up, to the integrated control device 3.

As described hereinabove, in the voice operation system for a pluralityof devices according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure, as in the first embodiment, when it has not been possible tospecify a device name from the recognition result for a voice commandspoken by the user, the device specifying unit 34 extracts remotecontrol identification information within remote control operationinformation that is output from the remote control 2, and specifies thedevice 10, which is associated with the remote control identificationinformation, as being the device that is the operation target of theuser. However, different from the first embodiment, because the soundpickup unit 41 that inputs the voice and the remote control 2 areseparate, the identification information of the remote control 2, whichis necessary to specify that the operation-target device is the device10 associated with the remote control 2, is output as a result of themovement detection unit 24 detecting a movement of the user with respectto the remote control 2.

Thus, in the exemplary third embodiment of the present disclosure, as inthe first embodiment, a voice operation for which the voice input device4, which is arranged in a different location from the remote control 2,is used can be carried out for the plurality of devices 10 to 12 on thehome network, and also a voice operation in which a device name has beenomitted becomes possible with respect to a specific device 10 that isassociated with the remote control 2, from among the plurality ofdevices, as long as the user holds the remote control 2.

Thus, as in the first embodiment, when the usage frequency of a specificdevice is high among a plurality of devices, or when a voice operationis only carried out for the specific device, it is no longer necessaryto speak that device name, and therefore the complexity for the user canbe reduced, and quick operation instructions for the specific devicebecome possible.

It should be noted that although the integrated control device 3 hasbeen described in the third embodiment using the integrated controldevice of the first embodiment, the integrated control device of thesecond embodiment, namely the integrated control device provided withthe device operation history storage unit 39, may be used.

Furthermore, in the third embodiment, the remote control 2 has aconfiguration provided with the operation detection unit 21 that detectsan operation button arranged on the upper surface of the remote control2; however, the remote control 2 does not need to have thisconfiguration. In this case, the remote control 2 is different from aconventional, general remote control in that when the movement detectionunit 24 has detected movements in which the user has held and moved theremote control 2, that information is transmitted to the devices 10 to12 and the integrated control device 3 as remote control operationinformation.

It should be noted that although the device 10 associated with theremote control 2 and the integrated control device 3 are configured asseparate devices in the aforementioned embodiments, the integratedcontrol device 3 may be configured including the control unit 102 thatis a constituent element of the device 10. In this case, in theintegrated control device 3, the control unit 102 executes acorresponding operation, based on control information that is outputfrom the control information generation unit 36. Specifically, in thedescription of the first embodiment, an example is given in which thedevice 10 is assumed to be a television, the device 11 is assumed to bea video recorder, and the device 12 is assumed to be an air conditioner;however, the integrated control device 3 itself may have the function ofa television, a video recorder, or an air conditioner.

Furthermore, in the aforementioned embodiments, the remote control 2 isset as a remote control associated with the device 10; however, theremote control 2 may be associated with any device as long as the deviceis connected to the home network and the integrated control device 3.

Furthermore, in the aforementioned embodiments, the constituent elementsmay be configured by using dedicated hardware, or may be realized byexecuting a software program suitable for the constituent elements. Theconstituent elements may be realized by a program execution unit such asa CPU or a processor reading out and executing a software programrecorded in a recording medium such as a hard disk or a semiconductormemory.

In addition, some or all of the constituent elements that make up theaforementioned apparatuses may be configured from one system LSI(large-scale integration). A system LSI is a multifunctional LSI inwhich a plurality of components are integrated and manufactured on onechip and, specifically, is a computer system configured including amicroprocessor, a ROM, and a RAM and the like. A computer program isstored in the RAM. As a result of the microprocessor operating accordingto the computer program, the system LSI achieves the function thereof.

And furthermore, some or all of the constituent elements that make upthe aforementioned apparatuses may be configured from an IC card or anindividual module that is able to be attached to and detached from theapparatuses. The IC card or the module is a computer system configuredfrom a microprocessor, a ROM, and a RAM and the like. The IC card or themodule may include the aforementioned multifunctional LSI. As a resultof the microprocessor operating according to a computer program, the ICcard or the module achieves the function thereof. This IC card or thismodule may be tamper-resistant.

Furthermore, the methods presented above are given as exemplary aspectsof the present disclosure. Furthermore, a computer program that realizesthese methods by means of a computer, and a digital signal constitutingthe computer program are applicable as other aspects of the presentdisclosure.

In addition, yet another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure alsoincludes an aspect in which the computer program or the digital signalis recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a flexibledisk, a hard disk, a CD-ROM, an MO, a DVD, a DVD-ROM, a DVD-RAM, a BD(Blu-ray Disc (registered trademark)), a USB memory, a memory card suchas an SD card, or a semiconductor memory, for example. Furthermore, anexemplary aspect of the present disclosure may be the digital signalthat is recorded on these recording mediums.

Furthermore, an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes anaspect in which the computer program or the digital signal istransmitted by way of a network represented by an electrictelecommunication line, a wireless or wired telecommunication line, andthe Internet, or data broadcasting or the like.

Furthermore, an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes acomputer system provided with a microprocessor and a memory, in whichthe memory stores the computer program, and the microprocessor operatesaccording to the computer program.

Furthermore, an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes thecase where the aforementioned apparatus is realized by anotherindependent computer system, as a result of the program or the digitalsignal being recorded on the recording medium and transferred, or as aresult of the program or the digital signal being transferred by way ofthe network or the like.

Furthermore, the numbers used hereinabove are all examples forexplaining the present disclosure in detail, and the present disclosureis not limited to the numbers given as examples.

Furthermore, the divisions of the function blocks in the block diagramsare examples, and a plurality of function blocks may be realized as onefunction block and one function block may be divided into a pluralitysuch that some functions are moved to other function blocks.Furthermore, the functions of a plurality of function blocks havingsimilar functions may be processed by individual items of hardware orsoftware in a parallel or time-divided manner.

Furthermore, the order in which the plurality of steps included in theaforementioned device management method are executed is an example forexplaining the present disclosure in detail, and may be an order otherthan the aforementioned. Furthermore, some of the steps may be executedat the same time as (in parallel with) other steps.

Hereinabove, embodiments of a device management apparatus according toone or a plurality of aspects have been described; however, the presentdisclosure is not limited to these embodiments. Modes in which variousmodifications conceived by a person skilled in the art have beenimplemented in the present embodiments, and modes constructed bycombining the constituent elements in different embodiments may also beincluded within the scope of one or more aspects provided they do notdepart from the purpose of the present disclosure.

The present disclosure is useful for a device control method in a devicemanagement system that is connected to a plurality of target devicesarranged in the same household and manages the plurality of targetdevices.

We claim:
 1. A method, comprising: receiving, from a voice inputapparatus associated with a first target device among a plurality oftarget devices, instruction information that includes first voiceinformation indicating an operation instruction for any target deviceamong the plurality of target devices, the plurality of target devicesbeing arranged in a same household; recognizing the operationinstruction from the first voice information included in the receivedinstruction information, wherein the instruction information includesidentification information that identifies the voice input apparatus;specifying the first target device by referencing a first database inwhich the identification information and a device ID of the first targetdevice are associated; determining whether second voice informationindicating an operation object for the operation instruction is includedin the instruction information; and transmitting, (i) when the secondvoice information is not included in the instruction information, afirst control command for executing the recognized operation instructionto the first target device, and (ii) when the second voice informationis included in the instruction information, the first control command toa second target device associated with the operation object.
 2. A devicemanagement system, comprising: a device management apparatus; and avoice input apparatus, wherein the device management apparatus which, inoperation, receives, from the voice input apparatus associated with afirst target device among a plurality of target devices, instructioninformation that includes first voice information indicating anoperation instruction for any target device among the plurality oftarget devices, the plurality of target devices being arranged in a samehousehold; recognizes the operation instruction from the first voiceinformation included in the received instruction information, whereinthe instruction information includes identification information thatidentifies the voice input apparatus; specifies the first target deviceby referencing a first database in which the identification informationand a device ID of the first target device are associated; determineswhether second voice information indicating a second target device amongthe plurality of target devices is included in the instructioninformation; and transmits, (i) when the second voice information is notincluded in the instruction information, a control command for executingthe recognized operation instruction to the first target device, and(ii) when the second voice information is included in the instructioninformation, the control command to the second target device, and thevoice input apparatus which, in operation, transmits the instructioninformation to the device management apparatus.
 3. A voice inputapparatus that is connected to the device management system according toclaim 2.